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VOL. 133 ISSUE 3
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Religion on campus W E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 6
UVM to open center for the safe practice of religion on campus by kelsey neubauer kaneubau@uvm.edu
Students will have more ways to practice and explore religion this year. By the end of this fall, an Interfaith Center will open its doors on Redstone campus, allowing people of different faiths to worship, pray, meditate and learn, Interfaith Coordinator Laura Engelken said. The center is a part of the University’s plan to give space for differences and diversity, Engelken said. “Looking at religious and spiritual identity is huge; it’s part of who [students] are,” she said. “For some of us that’s an understanding of divinity; that’s an understanding of solidarity or philosophy.” If students have a place to engage with their faith, they will be able to bring their full selves to classes and other areas on campus, Engelken said. In addition, it will give students a safe space to practice,
she added. Junior Karyn Dukes said she agrees this space is necessary for religious inclusivity on campus.
their religious or spiritual beliefs, but the study does not account for religious diversity. About 70 percent practice some form of Christianity and
been in the works for a while, Engelkin said, A signed SGA resolution from 2014 in support of the Interfaith Center said the center
Looking at religious and spiritual identity is huge; it’s part of who [students] are. Interfaith Coordinator Laura Engelken “Religion is a right,” Dukes said. One study found that close to half the number of college students in America practice a religion. The University of California Los Angeles conducted a national study looking at college students and their engagement with faith. They found 42 percent of college students feel secure in
less than 5 percent practice the next two largest world religions, according to the Pew Center for research. In Vermont this number goes up to 8 percent. UVM does not make data on religious diversity accessible to the public, but there are multiple religious organizations on campus that many students engage in. The idea of the center has
was once just a sitting idea. “[UVM] has already identified the Interfaith Center as an institutional priority, but has inadvertently put the project on hold,” the resolution states. Some religions have historically had spaces to practice: Catholics have the Catholic Center, and Jewish people have had Hillel and Chabad. The new center allows multiple religions to practice their
faith, Engelken said For many students, the church was not a space afforded to all before this change, Dukes said. “[When people go to college] they stop practicing because they may feel there is no place to practice here,” she said. However, this new center will give all students a safe space to go to, Dukes said. In addition to giving a safe space for people to practice religion, religious xenophobia on campus could be minimized by exposure to the diversity in one place, she said. The hope of the center is to do just this, encourage and engage effectively with dialogue of difference on campus, Engelken said. “[My role is both] individually and institutionally feel more comfortable and competent about engaging with religion and spirituality on campus,” she said.
CatCards have new design, new technology by alexandra shannon amshanno@uvm.edu
New CatCards are being issued to students and faculty this year with a new design and technology. The CatCards are different in both appearance and function. Instead of an image of Billings Library on the card, it is now the Davis Center. Part of the reason for the new design was to give the card a fresh look, but to also include newer technology, Mark McKenna, director of the CatCard center, said. This is the first time in years that the CatCard has been redesigned. “This will be the third ID in 20 years,” McKenna said, “so it’s been about 10 years since our last re-carding on campus.” “The new CatCards have a chip inside them, making them contactless cards,” he said. “Similar to a credit card, the IDs have a gold chip, but instead of it being on the outside of the card, it is embedded.” Throughout the semester
many of the digital card readers will be converted to contactless readers, McKenna said. The new card has dual technology, allowing it to work with both current readers and new ones, which will begin to be installed in mid-September. “The doors will be the first thing to change,” McKenna said. “Administrative buildings and academic buildings will be the first to have the contactless readers on them.” The CatCard Center was previously located in the Davis Center, but is now in Billings Student Center. The location change was a concern for upperclassmen because they were familiar with the Davis Center location, McKenna said. Junior Madison Kennedy said she has not gotten a new CatCard yet due to both time conflicts and the new location of the center. “I just haven’t had the time and I don’t like that the new CatCard center is in Billings,” Kennedy said.
Heather Allard, CatCard office manager, helps sophomore Elizabeth Lee get a new CatCard. HANNAH KEARNS/The Vermont Cynic
Other students said they have no need to get a new CatCard because theirs are still in good condition. “I’m not going to get [a new] one because mine is perfectly fine,” junior Lindsay Sweet said. Junior Andy Crocker also said his CatCard is still functioning even in his third year. “My old CatCard is kind
of cool, and I want to keep it for four years,” he said, “It’s chipped, but it still swipes.” The first new CatCards received by students and faculty are free, even if the old Billings card had been lost, but the cost of replacing the new one is $25, McKenna said. The old cards will be deactivated at the end of the semester.
“We do strongly encourage people to get in here as soon as possible to get their new cards ,because the old ones at the end of the semester will definitely be deactivated,” McKenna said. “And as time goes on, the inconvenience factor may increase throughout the semester.”